Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Suing alma mater for damages

The current situation with the overproduction of PhDs is just one example of a broader problem in higher education. […] Our elected officials should enact laws that allow graduates to sue their alma matter for damages (recover tuition costs, housing, lost income and pain and suffering) if they are not able to find meaningful employment (a full time job paying private sector market wages in their field of training) within a year of graduating. By meaningful employment I don’t mean the typical slave-like situation that often accompanies academic STEM jobs. The almost immediate result of such legislation is that supply would align with demand and the quality of graduates would go up dramatically. Another consequence of this proposal is that committee members would not sign a dissertation if they suspected the PhD. candidate could not make a meaningful contribution to his/her field if they knew they could be financially liable. This sucking of money out of academic institutions would undoubtedly lead to layoffs of faculty members (tenured or not!), and the first to go would be those individuals who don’t produce anything practical (i.e. all their former graduate students and postdocs don’t have meaningful employment). Over time professors would no longer be judged by the number of scientific publications they co-auther, but the magnitude of the positive impact they have on the economy.